Day Fifty-Seven: Amory (Rest Day)

The humidity had become so awful throughout the night that we woke up to a tent that was dripping wet—not from rain, but rather, from the thick air. We set our gear out in the sun to dry and decided to ride back a few miles into town for breakfast. We landed at the Huddle House, a strangely confused restaurant that doesn’t seem to know whether it’s fast food or full-service. The food was sub-par, but better than a granola bar, I suppose, and once we wrapped up, we crossed the parking lot to Wal-Mart once more to grab snacks for the day. Little did we know, we had been spotted by locals who were eager to meet us. A tall, burly man with a long grey beard and arms full of tattoos followed Slater anxiously through the store, only to catch him in the Men’s bathroom—and I’m sure you can imagine how nervous he was.

The man’s name was Jim Conaway, and he and his wife, Alana, had seen us rolling out of the Huddle House on our 70-something pound bikes, and they were dying to save us from the heat. “I’m just sayin’, if you’d like a hot shower and a home-cooked southern meal fresh from the garden, we’d love to have you.” Slater initially declined the offer since we had just taken a multiple-day break, but when he came back and told me the news, we changed our minds. We couldn’t help but spend time with people who were so eager to host! So we weaved through the aisles and tracked them down, and next thing we knew, we were on the road toward their home.

Their trailer was perched on a piece of grassy land with a huge, flourishing garden. They welcomed us inside and showed us around, pointing out trinkets and photographs to give us a better idea of their lifestyle and hobbies. Jim is fascinated by his Native American heritage, and it shows in their extensive collection of artifacts and artwork that decorates their home. Alana is a talented cook whose kitchen was brimming with fresh-picked tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, butter beans, and other goodies from the garden. Soon after our arrival, those veggies became our dinner and ooooohhhh, Lord, was it a spread. There were fried pork chops and cornbread, butter beans cooked in bacon, red potatoes and sliced tomatoes, and to top it all off, two tins of cherry cheesecake. We had never eaten a meal so truly southern.

We spent the afternoon conversing with Jim and Alana and Alana’s brother, Harvey, who is an incredibly bright man. We watched the news and the weather channel, but mostly as background noise, as we were much too invested in spending time with the wonderful family who took us in. They let us shower and clean up as best as we could, threw our clothes into the washer and dryer, and even gave us a few things of their own to remember them along the way. We retired early that night, our exhaustion finally catching up with us, and we slept peacefully in the living room the entire night through.